18 June 2009
Lagos — A Federal High Court has fined an Assistant Comptroller of Customs, Mufutau Bamidele Akande , the sum of N1million for defaming the Vice Chancellor of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), Prof. Olugbemiro Jegede.
Trial judge, Justice Jude Okeke , in his judgment held that the court was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the Customs Officer by virtue of his petition titled "Complaint against Immoral conduct of Prof. Olu Jegede" to the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Abuja dated November 24, 2006 did defame the NOUN boss.
The petition was later reported in some national magazines and newspaper publications.
The court also compelled Akande to retract the publication and apologise to the NOUN boss within two weeks from the date of the judgment in some news magazine and national dailies.
Akande had on November 24, 2006 sent a complaint to the NUC chief accusing the NOUN boss of snatching his wife, Mrs. Sariyu Olufunke Akande , nee Alade, with whom he had been married for 15 years.
In the complaint, the Customs officer alleged that the callous, immoral and criminal conduct of Jegede threw his 15 years marriage into disarray which had resulted in untold hardship for him and his children.
Following the complaint, Jegede on January 8, 2008 filed a writ of summons and statement of claim against the defendant demanding N1billion as damages due to the injury occasioned by defamation and loss of reputation suffered as a result of the petition and the attendant publications.
Counsel to the Customs Officer, Lekan Ogunleye, told the court that his client was justified in the circumstances of the indictment of the plaintiff by the police report that his wife lived in the Lagos flat of Jegede.
In his judgment, the trial judge stated that the gist of the allegation was the illicit love affair Jegede allegedly had with Akande's wife as well as steps the NOUN chief took in perpetuation of the illicit love affair.
"It is my respectful view that the defendant has not been able to prove by positive and credible evidence the allegation or claim that the plaintiff maintains an illicit or amorous love relationship with his wife,' he said.
The judge further held that the defendant has not shown by credible or positive evidence that Jegede enticed his wife out of her matrimonial home or out rightly snatched her away from him.
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